The Compass Theatre is a 158-seat theatre in Ickenham owned by the London Borough of Hillingdon. Middlesex County Council bought Ickenham Hall and its grounds in 1948 in order to convert it into a youth centre. In 1968 a theatre was built behind the hall, later named the Compass Theatre by the Theatre Director John Sherratt. The two buildings were connected by a new building in 1976. The theatre was refurbished in 1990 and reopened by HRH Prince Edward. Until 2009, Tall Stories, producers of The Gruffalo, were a theatre company in residence.